Tweed Ride?

2nd annual Iowa City Tweed Ride.  Okay, basic summary:

Enjoyable meet and greet with old bicycles at the beginning, dissolves rapidly into biking 2 miles to a bar, then to a park (for more alcohol), to another bar etc.  So actually not much of a ride.  I bailed out right at the point that intoxicated riders began to find it funny to walk around in their undergarments.

I mean I don't have a problem with a pint or two of a stout, I mean liquid carbs? Yes. But decorum and excess and all that.

Rode to a nice used book store. Riding in Iowa City is so fun. Traffic is calm and always neat places to ride.

I eventually finagled the pigeon back into the car and drove the hour or so back home. Having to basically re-tweak the front rod brakes every time the front wheel is removed to fit the thing in the car, that's a real hassle. If it wasn't 50 miles down and back on shoulderless 55mph byways I would've just rode it.

Then the next day I took the Pigeon and rode 40 miles out into the country. Much more enjoyable. I need to start packing actual nutrition, as I got a little ragged at the end.

met an otter at his creek. 

Persistence of Pigeon

Just sort of touching base, but I continue to ride my PA-02 Flying Pigeon more than my other bicycles, and the more I do, the more I am aware of  how oddly "right" it feels.  I was considering putting on a three speed IGH hub in the back, but now I'm not so sure. According to Sheldon Brown's Gear inch calculator, I'm running around 56" and basically I climb on the bike and go.  My daily commute features a few gradual hills, and one steep 20% grade climb 50 feet up onto a former railroad embankment.   I'm not out of the seat for this.

Sunflowers from the backyard - back in September. Actually this is kind of neat:   They were last planted three years ago.  Now the chipmunks have them coming up all over the place. 

Admittedly I top out at a pokey 13mph, at a comfortable spin, but on the miles of crushed limestone trails, and suburban back streets this speed feels entirely fine.  The responsiveness of the single speed drive train is terrific. Or, maybe it just feels natural?   In comparison, the Nexus Inter 3 on my Felt Cafe, and Nexus 8 on my Workcycles/Azor Kruisframe feel lethargic, disconnected and full of friction.

When I got the Pigeon, I repacked the wheel bearings out of curiosity of the process when I was assembling, it, and waiting for other parts to arrive. I also later upgraded to the 20 tooth 3 pawl BMX freewheel.  Now the wheel is tight in the stays and on the bearings, no slop - but I can spin it with one stroke by hand, and it keeps going for almost a minute Neither of my IGH bikes can do this.

There is some sort of mystic British Raleigh Perfection here even when executed as a Chinese knockoff.

Not that the Pigeon is entirely trouble free - Yesterday evening, before my ride home I checked the crank tightness, and found that the cotter on one was  a bit loose and notchy. (I had dismissed it as the slightly crummy MKS 3000 pedals)   I rode it home carefully and then hammered the cotter in with a few good whacks, seating it further and tightened the cotter nut. Problem solved.  Also, I finally found 5mm hex head screws to replace the nearly stripped originals for the rod-brake clips at the local hardware store.

So I'm thinking about simplifying the Kruisframe a good bit, maybe try the very efficient SRAM automatix 2 speed hub on it, strip the bike down a little bit.

It is interesting, how perceptions change with experience.  I was thinking about getting a 10 speed-ish road bike next year, possibly to do Ragbrai with, and then a few months later, I was thinking about just 3 speeding it with a front derailleur and Paul Melvin tensioner...     now I'm realizing that I can just go all day on a single speed.

Near miss venting.

Maybe I should've gone after her, yelled at her or something. Stupid lady in her minivan turning oncoming in front of me, just so she could get to her freaking parking spot at Target.  

I was fine, no contact was made, but it was disconcerting. I was commuting home on the Flying Pigeon when it happened. I had a light on.  I was doing everything right, yet still nearly got hit because of a stupid self important driver.

The rod brakes on the Pigeon aren't bad, but they're still  less effective than a coaster or good caliper brakes, I nailed them hard as I decelerated and though they're fine when I'm using them to modulate my speed, they seem to lack a little bit for panic stopping because of stupid drivers.   Might be time to rebuild the rear wheel around a coaster brake.

Grand Weekend, Planes, Pigeons.

 

PA-02 Pigeon and Travel-Air 6000

Wow, the Pigeon received overwhelming attention at the antique airplane fly-in.  More attention than say, the more deserving airplanes. I was accosted four or five times on friendly terms "I've been looking for you, I want to ask you about..."    or "Does the light come with it?"    I pedaled about, and it was a great way to get up and down the rows of planes or to and from my campsite.  The schwalbe delta cruisers made easy work of the grass turf.  I probably should've stayed a little longer, but was somewhat quickly home-sick and: bugs.
Previously I've camped in a KampRite Tent-Cot, which I can't recommend enough.  This time, with the Pigeon filling up most of my hatchback, I decided to use my MountainSmith 2 person tent.   Well, it seemingly attracted ants and bugs like there was no tommorrow. I would turn on the light and look up, and see 300 ants crawling between the tent proper and the rain fly. A proverbial and psychologically damaging sword of formicidae hanging over my head. Even when I applied citronella to the tie-downs.   Between that and the weather, I went home early.  I'm going to have nightmares about that.

A day later after getting home, I followed up  Friday and Saturday's riding with the annual ride of the local Trail Sponsorship Committee, and then back up the CVNT trail to home, making for 20 more miles, and the longest single ride for the Pigeon.

The Pigeon held up strongly with it's British roadster heritage. Single speed and 53 or so gear inches, it has an easy going Pepe-le-Pew sort of pacing that has me covering plenty of ground with even effort.  I did get a little nervous during the group ride, as I was hemmed in, and the rod brakes don't quite stop as fast as everyone else.  Also, with such a thick crowd of varying skill levels, I had no problem wearing a helmet. As much to protect myself from accidents caused by my fellow bikers.

Dagnabit Dangit Nabit.

About two miles before I reached home, I got my first bicycle flat. Well, I pulled off in a shady spot, flipped the bike, and practiced what I've only seen instructed. Located the hole, rather an almost knife like slit in the tube with no visible penetration in the tire, or anything stuck in the tire.   I used one of the Park Super Patches,  but it let go, or  the slit-cut expanded after half a mile or so further. I noticed that the new rim-tape I purchased from the LBS was not covering the entire inside of the rim, also that there were a few sharp-seeming machining spots. Probably the issue.  Well I'll pull the wheel again and tape the rim with some 24mm tape, and throw on a new tube.

All in all a good labor-day weekend.

Pigeon across amber fields

Flying Pigeon PA-02

The Pigeon's new cotters arrived, although I was able to use the original cotter with a little more hammering, assisted with a new nylon lock nut that seems to hold quite fast.
Like the Raleigh DL-1s, the Flying Pigeon has 'loose' seatstays that are joined to the rear dropouts and then are secured to the seat-tube top/cluster with the seatpost binding bolt. One of the problems I had with the build was an inability to really secure the seat. It would always sink in or twist, no matter how tight I got the seatpost binding bolt.  Eventually I stripped its threads.   I took it down and looked at it... the bolt had an anti-rotation shoulder.. and one would suspect the rack adjustments and the seat-stays to have appropriate notches to accommodate the shoulder. (The seatpost lug flanges had the notches)  But nope, inexplicably none of these had notches for the shoulder. Indeed the shoulder had been gouging the rack about considerably as I attempted to tighten it down.

Pigeon of the Proletariat

This was solved by tossing the rack. I was kind of dour on it anyways. Yes, tossing the rack, and more importantly getting an unshouldered 8mm bolt from the hardware store, along with some better nuts and washers for replacing various existing bits. It is funny, how much a single quality fastener can improve something. I barely had to tighten it on the new seatpost, and everything held was held fast like iron. The  B.72 Brooks that I had leftover from trialing various saddles, clamps and seatposts on Zwartehond replaces the somewhat oversprung stock seat.  (Which just goes to show, a quality saddle such as a Brooks is a good thing to have an extra of) With everything tightened up, I decided to take Feige for a sunset ride.

I have many things to be thankful for, one of them is the sudden explosion in my area of bicycle trails. Just in the past 4 months a new rail-to-trail has been constructed and opened, a portion of the route which I can now take, that reduces by 3 or 4 minutes my work-commute, and gets me off the exceedingly bicycle unfriendly streets and into nature.  When completed the total new trail, will allow me to bicycle from my small bedroom community town, down to the city proper, faster than by using a car.  As it stands, the trail meanders through a wooded floodplain of one of the major creeks, crushed limestone pathing with gentle rolling rises, before ending for lack of additional construction by a larger river.   I bicycled through the evening air to the end of the trail, took photos, then leaned back on the bike, watching the sun set and turn the long prairie grasses green to gold, and the clouds purple, orange and blue-white.

the spread of the heavens reflected round in a bell

Every bicycle ride is a journey, although the wheels stop for awhile, they will soon roll again, forward. I have found something extremely spiritual about bicycling, in that bicycles are always of a good nature. They are the amongst the best machines we as humans, as a race have ever created. You do not cheat on a bicycle, it takes you as far as the energy you put into it. You're not borrowing petrol or electricity, it merely re-expresses your energy through a series of cleverly arranged wheels. And so we all roll.

Introspection aside, the Pigeon isn't a perfect bicycle, but for me, I find it a great bicycle.

When the sun touched the horizon, I set off for home, back through the now blue-shadowed woods. I lifted my foot and hit the release for the dynamo-light, letting it press against the tyre with a 'Whzzt!-rrrr' and it started producing a warm illumination, casting over the cool white of the limestone trail. Along up a ways I passed a gentleman walking with his young daughter who was cavorting in childish delight at a magic summer's eve.  He was carrying a pheasant feather.  I doubtlessly looked like an apparition from the 1920s in my clothing, and with the pigeon clanking, whirring and bobbling along. We greeted each other.  I rode through the little valleys and crested the small hills of the all but deserted park.

I can't help but like the Feige. I feel very perched upon it. Very little of the bike comes into my field of view when I'm riding it.  The single speed is set quite high, making for, slow starts, but it cruises nicely. You need to build up some speed for hills, but I find that I can 'drop' forward well and start putting some power down. The B.72 with its only very minimal suspension doubtless helps me feel the bike.  The rod brakes work, not outstanding, but not bad either.  Stay at a reasonable speed, and they'll suffice.  It is less 'twitchy' in the steering than my Felt, or the huge Azor/Workcycles Kruisframe.   It is very likeable, and has me curious about other English style bicycles- all of which are sadly non-existant out here on the prairie.   I'll keep riding about on it though, just ordered a zimbale 7 litre bag for it.

Pigeon Placeholder

notepad watercolour

I learned a few things building the PA-02 Flying Pigeon, one, that I probably need to take a camera with me on maiden voyages,  two: don't attempt to tighten cotters by tightening their nut. You'll just strip the threads.  - Verbatim from the wise Sheldon Brown, but I unfortunately read these words... after I stripped the threads.   I finished up the Pigeon Sunday, tentatively tightened everything up, positioned the rear wheel to what I thought was a good chain tension, got the rod brakes working, put the bike out on the driveway, mounted it-

  And promptly rode the bike I had assembled for four miles.  The bum cotter fell out right as I got back into the driveway.  So the Pigeon is convalescing while some new cotters, and a somewhat better seatpost arrive by post.  It is a bike!  I didn't reduce it to scrap! I learned things!  Rod brakes actually work well when set up correctly!   I just pre-tensioned them a little bit, no problem. They pull at least 70% of regular cable and caliper-rim brakes.

I'll get a proper review done up shortly.

Pigeon Parts, Cafe Flowers

Flying Pigeon in its box

I really can't say that I was in a bit of a lull- nearly every day for the past two weeks I have commuted by bicycle, probably averaging 13 miles or so a day. Nothing special, but isn't that what we strive for? Incorporating cycling as a basic part of our lives?   Hey hardware, that is always easy to write about!

My Flying Pigeon PA-02 arrived on Monday after its trip from Flying Pigeon LA. Thankfully double boxed- well packed.  The box did however exude that un-wonderful eau de 'Guangdong Industrial' also known to people as 'That Harbor Freight' smell. Seems to be a mixture of vinyl plasticizers and some sort of anti-corrosion solvent.  The bike was quickly unpacked and the stinky packing materials were banished to the garage.

pigeon strewn about

I purchased this bicycle for a few reasons, one of which was to have a cheap project bike, preferably something with very basic or old technology. Something that I could assemble, disassemble, and basically not freak about if I scattered parts across the floor and had to spend an hour or two at Sheldon Brown's website, learning how to put said parts back together. Tonight I learned about adjusting the bearing cones on a rear hub. What? I could've done that with the rear wheel mounted?   I've always had reasonable amount of mechanical aptitude, but no in-depth experience with bicycles. Basically, this is my erstwhile tutor.

Actually on review, the wheels don't seem particularly warped. The only thing that slightly bothers me about the construction are the rear drop-outs, basically they're just the chainstay tubing, stamped flat, and with I think another sheet of steel in there, and tacked with a few spot welds, then the slot is milled out.  Forged dropouts would've been nice, particularly when the rest of the bike's structure seems otherwise competent.  That being said, I know from other engineering examples, that formed sheet steel can be stunningly resilient, and I see photos of Pigeons being used day in and day out in China. 

- Update: Upon further examination, I can't find any visual evidence that classic Raleighs were any different in the construction of the rear drop-outs. Indeed on photographic inspection, several vintage bikes seemed to use a system where the chainstay tubes were flattened, and welded, potentially with another piece of thick sheet or thin billet to hold things fast.  I think with the additional reinforcement of the heavy kick-stand attachment plates, that the rear-dropouts are absolutely fine for intended use.

I'm going to build the Pigeon up to stock specs, and ride it around a little. It can be a bike for the low-traffic trail, and for biking up to the Dairy-Queen. All nice and flat routes.  Then maybe I can experiment some. The Sturmey Archer S2C kickshift hub seems like it might be a nice upgrade.

Closing out with a photo of my Felt Cafe3 pausing amidst some flowers.  Having more than one bike is great. The big WorkCycles Kruisframe is smooth and leisurely, but when I'm on the Felt, I approach something that might be called swift and speedy!